Been faraway for far too long
by The-Time-Wolf
Summary: Post Doomsday, Inspired by the song ‘Faraway’ by Nickleback. When the Rift begins to tear the world apart, Torchwoods best finds something she hoped for five years down the track. R&R flamers will be put out with a fire extinguisher T just to be safe.
1. The Rift

**Title: Just haven't figured it out yet**

**Summary: post Doomsday, Inspired by the song 'Faraway' by Nickleback. Some times impossible needs to be looked at in a different angle. **

**HI!! I'm back; I took a writing break due to school becoming the main centre of my own little world, mind you that didn't stop the plot bunnies from burrowing into my mind. Every time I had an idea I wrote it down and 2 days ago I jumped back onto the wagon and started writing again. Tell you what though YAY!! It is a relief to be writing again. **

**For all of those that know me and my other fics like The After and are waiting for the sequel, it is in the production line at the moment, and the production line is huge.**

**Ok now it's my turn to write a post-Doomsday fic (this hasn't been BR, so if my beta is reading this I'm sorry I didn't send this to you but I wanted to get this in as soon as possible) **

**Disclaimer: is this _completely_ necessary, I mean you know that I know that I don't own this brilliant show. **

xxx

Cold water lapped over her exposed ankles, washing sand and small shells over her feet. Her body was still, only her hair flying in the wind was moving, her face a shielded mask, one that she had perfected over the years of being here. Her eyes looked unseeing over the horizon, unshed tears pooling within them, memories flickering in her brown orbs.

It had been 5 years since she had said goodbye, and stood upon Bay Wolf Bay and mimicked this same stance while her new family sat in the car waiting to leave. The cold harsh wind had won and she had gotten into the car and left behind her heart.

Since that day she hadn't shed one tear, in everyone's mind saying goodbye to him had given her closure and it seemed that she had moved on. In truth she was getting by, saying goodbye had caused her to reason with her self and realise that she was doing no one any favours by moping and waiting for something that was never going to be. If there was one thing that she had learnt from her travels it was everything has it time, it may not be fair and you can kick and scream about it, or you can suck it up and take what is given to you. She chose the latter.

There was only one day a year that she aloud her self to remember, bring forth the memories and the pain. One day a year when she travelled to Norway and thought about him and what he might be doing. She hoped that he wasn't travelling alone, knowing the Doctor he wouldn't. She hoped that he hadn't forgotten about her, again knowing the Doctor there wasn't a chance that he would forget.

She now worked for Torchwood, as the head of the negotiations and informant department. She was Earth's, mainly Britain's voice to other Nations, but also the voice to extraterrestrials and their little library of information. It was a purpose and it kept her busy, sometimes too busy. Mickey was forever telling her that she works her self to death, telling her to take it easy and a few breaths. She keeps him happy by eating when he gives her a stern look and going to sleep when he shots a glare.

Her mum and Dad are incredibly happy. Her mum has the love of her life back and her dad has the family that he has always wanted. Her little brother was now 4 and half, Jackie and Pete had named him Jack Pete Tyler. Mickey and Jake were living together, Mickey's gran was living down the road close by for Mickey to keep an eye on. Rose was happy for everyone and waking up every morning to Jackie shouting at Pete always brought a goofy smile to her face.

No matter how much she smiled, laughed and pretended when she was awake, she couldn't lie to her heart or mind. Dreams reflected what was inside of her when she was awake, her heart crying out where her eyes would not. Once the sun rose the tears in her soul dried up and the dreams faded under the shield, only to be set free under the moon.

She hadn't moved on romantically, she didn't think that it was fair on anyone, her heart belonged to someone, and they were worlds apart, quite literally. So she absorbed her self in pretending she was okay and in her work at Torchwood.

Suddenly the vibration of her phone brought her out of her ravine of thoughts and memories. Pressing the answer button a frown washed over her face as she brought the phone to her ear.

"yes" she said sternly, letting the caller know that she was angry.

"Rose it's .."

"Mickey, what did I tell you, under no circumstances were you call me today, didn't I say that when I saw you this morning?" she said equally stern

"Yeah I remember, but it's important. Pete said he was going to call you, but decided against it, something about Tyler women and temper." He said hurriedly.

"Mickey." she sighed, silently telling him to hurry up on get on with it.

"Right, sorry. There is something that you need to see, something really weird is happening over here. Weird weather phenomena and readings coming from the rift thought you might be able to shed some light, seeing that you know the most about this rift."

Forgetting her past anger and memories, curiosity and interest took over.

"Right, when did all of this start, tell me everything" she started to walk towards her rent-a-car unrolling her trousers and she got into her rent-a-car and put the hands free on.

"It started around 4 hours ago, didn't really bother us until a sort of a tornado shot towards the rift, which hasn't disappeared yet. Heat was radiating off it and the clouds aren't grey that are swirling around, there like a reddish yellow. About 1 hr ago blue light started to be admitted from it and started to merge with the orange cloud. That's about it" he said excitingly.

"Right I'll get the next plane back and I'll be there in a few hours, keep me updated"

"Plane? Rose where are you?" asked Mickey cursorily

"It doesn't matter, I'll see you soon. Bye" she hung up before he could say any thing.

She didn't want anyone to know that she was coming to Norway once a year, not when everyone was so sure that she was getting on with her life. She had gotten sick of the sympathetic glances that they gave her before Bad Wold Bay and the days following, she had wanted things to be normal, people to stop feeling sorry for her. So she stored all her hurt and pain in a box in her mind that read 'Doctor', not even in Norway did she open it all of the way, in case she got drowned by her feelings.

xxx

Stepping off of the plane she was greeted by Mickey hopping from one leg to the other impatiently. Spotting her he hurried over to her, worry all over his face. Rose's stomach fell at that look; that look meant trouble at Torchwood, something that she was all too aware of. Being Earth's one protection against alien threat; trouble always seemed to be a constant.

"Mickey what is it?" she asked when they were close enough; Mickey turned and walked ahead with Rose by his side.

"It's the rift, it seems to be pulling something in, all of the readings are picking up a downward flow of energy flowing towards the rift, unsealing it" this caused Rose to stop and turn to Mickey apprehension written all over her face.

"Unsealing it, you sure, are they sure?" she said frantically.

"Sure, it started about half an hour ago and it's unsealing at a fast rate" they continued to walk at a fast pace towards Mickey's car.

xxx

Arriving at Cardiff took a short amount of time and soon they were hurrying towards the temporary base that was set up.

As soon as Rose entered the main tent Pete looked up and walked over to her.

"Rose, thank God you're here, have you seen it yet?" at her negative shake of the head Pete led her out of the tent and into a 4WD that was waiting for them.

After 20 minutes of driving they arrived at their destination.

Stepping out of the car she straight away felt the energy from the rift, but there was something else there, something that was at the back of her mind that she couldn't quite identify.

Mickey's description did not give the 'tornado' justice. It was HUGE the size of the whole square, it engulfed it. But it wasn't going anywhere, sure there was wind, but it wasn't pulling anything into it, the wind was just swirling around it sucking down bringing 'something' in. The colour of it was magnificent; it was a golden colour with a tinge of blue and red occasionally streaking it and then disappearing into it. Momentarily a flare of gold would leap out, like a sun flare, and then get sucked back it.

Turning around she looked at Pete with a disbelieving look on her face.

"I know same thing I thought when I saw it, but it's dangerous, a civilian was burnt when curiosity got the best of them, they're fine now, they're burns were treated and now they're home" Rose turned back to the swirling cloud in front of them. She had never seen anything like it in all of her travels, and she didn't know that much on the rift, just what the Doctor had told her about it, and back before he regenerated he didn't tell all that much, just what he thought was necessary.

"So, Mr Smith says that you know what the rift is" he said expectantly.

"It's a scar in time, dimensions if you will. Back in 1869, Cardiff, in my world a girl named Gwyneth closed it up. When she did the rift in all of the universes must have closed up to, when I came here I looked for any similarities and this was one of them. So it was sealed, it was almost opened again years ago, when I was travelling with the Doctor, and we resealed it again. All I know from there is that if this rift is opened again then the world will get swallowed up by it. We need to stop this from happening" she said finally turning towards Pete seriously.

"How do we do that, we can't get near it and we haven't been able to stop it yet, we don't even properly know what it is"

"Well then that is our job from now on, find out what it is exactly, stop it, we can't risk the rift opening" she said in her all business tone that she used when she wanted to hide that she was scared. She followed Pete back on the car and they were driven back to base, knowing that there was a long night ahead.

xxx

Ok that is the end of this chapter, tell me what you think.

Hugs and cookies

Time Wolf


	2. New discoveries and Hope

**Disclaimer: Disclaimer: is this _completely_ necessary, I mean you know that I know that I don't own this brilliant show. **

xxx

Chapter 2: New discoveries and Hope

There was only so long that she could look at the computer screen before it all became a jumble of numbers and words. She had been sitting at the computer trying to sort out the astronomical mess that the world was in for almost 12 hours and she still wasn't any closer to knowing anymore then what she originally knew about the rift.

Coffee was shoved in front of her line of vision; the coffee was attached to the hand of Mickey.

"Coffee?" he asked, putting it in her hand before she could reply.

"Thanks Mick" she said quietly, while sipping her coffee. She put down her coffee and picked her pen back up and began writing out the data that were listed on the screen. She heard Mickey sigh behind her, he took the pen from her hand. Throwing her hand up in frustration and giving a slow angry sigh she turned to Mickey giving him a reproachable look.

"You look horrible Rose, you should get some sleep, or at least take a break for a bit, you'll be no use to anyone if you collapse from fatigue" he said the tone that he reserved for telling her that she was working her self too hard.

"I will not collapse from fatigue, I'm fine, so don't worry about me." She went to snatch the pen from him but he moved it out of her reach.

"Rose you have been working for 12 hours straight, you got up once to get a coffee and that was five minutes into starting and since then you've been working on this damn computer, you have to give it a rest some time" he said as he put his hands on her shoulders "come on Rose, go and have a bit of sleep, just a few hours and then you can spend as long as you want.." at her sceptical look he stopped and changed his mind "alright until I think you need to rest again" he smiled down at her.

"Mick, if I don't get this worked out, then the rift will.." she began. Mickey just rolled his eyes.

"I know, suck the Earth in, Rose, Pete already filled me in, but there are other people working on this too, your not alone in this alright?" he squeezed her shoulders and then pulled her out of her chair "alright up now and off to bed with you, I'll wake you up if any thing big comes up and you're the only person that can fix it ok, now off with ya" he said pushing her lightly towards the temporary quarters.

"Anything Mickey, anything at all I don't care what it is, but you come and get me you hear!" she shouted after his retreating back. Sighing she made her way to the makeshift beds, collapsing softly on it she quickly feel asleep.

_Rose…_

_She was in complete darkness, but suddenly when her name was called it exploded in golden light occasionally streaked by blue and red. She put her hand in the river of gold and it felt warm and comforting._

_Rose… _

_She suddenly looked up and there was the Doctor, before he regenerated, with a soft smile on his face, looking down at her with unguarded emotion in his blue eyes. _

"_Doctor" she brought her hand to his cheek, he closed his eyes and lent into it bringing his own hand up to cover hers._

"_Hello Rose" he said in his beautiful northern accent._

_Rose!_

_She didn't take her eyes from the Doctors, savouring in the grey blue that she was drowning in._

_ROSE! WAKE UP!_

_Suddenly she felt a pulling sensation and the Doctor started to fade away his smile never wavering. _

She sat up quickly, with a shout knocking her head on the bed above hers.

"Ow" she moaned, bringing her hand to her forehead, she rubbed her eyes and felt that her eyelashes were slightly damp from unshed tears. Privately cursing her self for almost losing control she looked to see the person that had woken her up. Mickey was standing above her with a worried look on his face, frantically hopping on his feet.

"What Mickey" she said groggily the remnants of sleep still there and the dream slowly fading away until there was nothing but a blur of feelings and sensations left.

"There is something that you need to see, I mean _really_ need to see" he said already walking quickly out of the door.

Rose jumped out of bed careful not to hit her head again and grabbed her coat to follow Mickey.

He was waiting for her in the car that had taken her to the 'tornado'. 'They really needed to get a better name for it' she thought to her self.

"Mickey care to explain what this is all about" she said as he drove them to the 'tornado'.

"You'll see when we get there, it appeared about 5 mins before I woke you up, I heard about it 2 minutes before I woke you up, and then it took about that amount of time to wake you up, you must have been tired" he said looking over to her.

"Not really, I didn't feel all that tired, but I guess I must have been, cause I just shut down when my head touched the pillow" she leant her forehead against the cool window to try and soothe the headache that she felt building in her head. Mickey looked over to her giving her a concerned look.

"You're working to hard, I've said this before to you and you still don't listen, your going to burn you self out if you keep going like this, I'm just worried about you ok" he reached over and squeezed her shoulder comfortably.

She didn't say anything to him, she didn't want to say that almost burning herself out was the only way to keep sane and above that line that was an emotional reck. She tried to remember the dream that she had, she knew that it was the same dream that she was always having when she went to sleep, but she never remembered what happened in them, she always made her self frustrated trying to think about it.

"We're here" said Mickey cutting through her thoughts.

They both got out of the car. The 'tornado' was no longer in sight, yet millennium square was bathed in a blue light giving it an enthralled look.

She felt the change almost instantly; the rift energy was stronger now, but so was the other energy. Except this time she recognised it and the object across the square confirmed the feeling that she was getting.

It was the TARDIS and she was feeling the vortex that had brought it here.

Feeling a presence behind her she turned. Mickey had a smile on his face.

"Told you that you needed to see it" he flicked his hand towards it "go on see if any one is home, I can see that you're dying to"

She ran off towards the TARDIS only stopping when she was a few inches from the door. She hesitated for a moment, hoping beyond hope that he was here. Sliding the key that she couldn't part with from her neck she gingerly opened the door.

xxx

Ok there is the end of chapter 2, tell me what you thought, next chapter up soon!!

Review

Hugs and cookies

Time wolf


	3. Reunited

Chapter 3: Reunited

It was eerily quite, the only sound that could hear was the sound of her feet hitting the grating. She walked around the TARDIS looking for any life amongst the wires and the mess that was the console room. The heart of the TARDIS was no longer emitting light, the light that would normally bathe the console room in multiple colours of the vortex.

The normally beautiful coral like structures that normally stood proud in the console room were ruined, fires had scorched them. Small fires were burning, making breathing a tough job.

Rose was breathing hard, not quite believing where she stood. She walked up the ramp and looked around. She shouted out.

"Doctor! Are you here, Doctor! It's me Rose" she walked further into the console room and gripped the railing to stop her self from falling when one of the gratings came loose.

Suddenly she noticed something.

There was a spot of brown on the floor.

Rose rushed around the console to get a closer look, trying not to give her hopes up.

As she rounded the corner she saw that it was the brown hair of the Doctor, he was lying unconscious on the floor, a small bump to his head, and a trickle of blood coming from it.

"Doctor!" she rushed over to him and sat him up levering him up in her lap, she brought him up with her and dragged him out of the TARDIS into the cold night air of Cardiff.

Mickey rushed over to her and helped with her load, and putting him on a stretcher. She went to go back in side when Mickey stopped her.

"Mickey there might be someone else in there, you know a companion, remember the Doctor doesn't travel alone" she ripped her arm from his grip and rushed back into the TARDIS.

Careful not to encounter anymore loose grating; she hurried down into the depths of the TARDIS.

"Is anyone else here, I'm a friend of the Doctor's, is there anyone here!" getting no answer she searched the corridors for a while and any rooms that she came across.

But getting no results she made her way back in to the console room. It was dark in there as dark as it had been when they had crashed landed in this world, dead. She shook that feeling off and went out to see if the Doctor was awake yet.

As soon as she stepped out Mickey came over to her.

"He's awake and he's asking for you"

xxx

Rose ran over to the tents that were situated in millennium square. She ran over to the medical tent that had been erected after the incident with the civilian, just in case someone else got curious.

She stopped when she heard his voice.

"Look I've already told you I'm fine, see look fine, all better now. Now may I get out, there is someone that I need to see. Pete! Hello! First Mickey now you, this is great! Nice to see you, can you tell these people that I am fine, just a bump to the head, nothing serious. Is Rose about, Mickey said that she was going to get her but she was in the TARDIS, is she out yet" he was happily babbling half to him self and half to Pete.

"Hello Doctor never thought I'd see you again, none of us did, but then again after what Rose has told us about you I didn't expect any less, I'll go see if she's about" he dad sounded slightly amused, and she could just hear his head shaking.

"It's alright I'm here" she announced her presence. She opened up the plastic flap to the tent and walked through.

The Doctor's head whipped around at the sound of her voice. "Rose" he whispered.

"Hello Doctor" she said just as quietly.

He leapt out of bed despite the nurses protests, and the flick of Pete's hand the nurses were dismissed and the Doctor and Rose were left together.

They both quickly moved towards each other, him lifting her up and her wrapping her arms around his neck. Swinging her about as he held her tightly, squeezing her to him. She was tightly holding on to him with an equal amount of strength.

"I've missed you so much" he whispered into her hair.

"God, I've missed you too, I keep thinking that I'm going to wake up and you're going to disappear. As soon as I saw the TARDIS I thought, great another way for my mind to torture me," he let her down and brought her head to his chest resting his chin on her head closing his eyes.

"I'm here Rose, don't know how, but I'm here" she sighed and listened to the double beat of his hearts finally believing for the first time that night that all of this was real.

Startled the Doctor felt Rose crying, her tears soaking through his shirt, her shacking in his arms.

"Rose?" he lifted her head from his chest and looks down at her. "What's the matter" he whispered.

"'s just I never thought I'd ever see you again, and here you are. For five years I've stopped myself from showing any emotion that would have shown people how I was feeling. And now you're here and it's like a wall has been completely bulldozed down, and all of my emotions can be let lose" she sobbed while drawing small patterns on one of his hearts, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Oh Rose, it's ok, I know that it has been hard for you, I knew once I said goodbye to you that it would be hard for you to move on. The life that I lead is wonderful, full of fun and adventure. I'm addicted to it, haven't been able to kick the habit after 900 years yet, how could I expect you and anyone else that I have travelled with to do that. It just wouldn't be fair." He looked down at Rose who was giving him a disbelieving look "what?"

"You think it was just travelling with you that I missed?! It was you and the TARDIS too, probably more so. I meant what I said on the beach Doctor, that wasn't a spur of the moment thing because I was never going to see you again, I love you, and I loved you before when you had big ears and a daft face" she said as silent tears ran down her face, her eyes telling him that what she was saying was absolutely true.

"Rose, I guess if I'm ever going to get a chance to say it, that this would be the time." He cupped her face in his hands and used his thumbs to brush away the tears "Rose Tyler, when I met you I was drowning in self hate and I never thought that I would be able to resurface. Then I met you all scared and helpless, so I took you hand I told you to run, I tried to get rid of you after that, I didn't want to put any one in danger and get them killed either just as I had killed my people. No matter how much I shook, you stuck firm, not letting go of my hand. I knew that you were the companion for me, but you said no to space, I gave you a second chance and you said yes to time, said yes to a Time Lord. Rose Tyler, you saved a Time Lord from himself and from a fleet of Daleks bent on destroying humanity, even after I sent you home. Every day you'd shine into my soul and take some more of that pain and darkness away, never letting your trust falter. Now I ask you Rose Tyler, how could I not love you, my stupid, stubborn, beautiful, kind, compassionate, loving, trusting, fantastic ape?" he brought her into his embrace before she could see the tears escaping from his eyes. "And I almost lost you, my angel in time, oh Rassilion I love you"

She slowly brought her head from out of the nook of his neck her hand to entwine with his, she smiled "you had all that to say and you only gave your self 2 minutes to say it in, we travelled for 2 years and you chose the last second to tell me how much I mean to you and never actually tell me." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips "for a Time Lord your pretty short for it aren't you?" her smile grew wider.

"See that's what I love about you, with just a few sentences you manage to shot me down" he smiled and quickly bent down and swept her up in a soul shattering kiss. Just as he was starting to explore her mouth with his tongue they were rudely interrupted.

"Ahem, sorry to interrupt, but there is still is the matter of the rift swallowing us up, or should I worry about you swallowing Rose up Doctor? The rift, just in case you've forgotten Rose" Mickey stood there with a cheeky grin on his face like a brother that had caught his sister making out.

"The rift opened?" asked the Doctor looking between Rose and Mickey.

Already walking out of the tent that served as the hospital Rose and Mickey turned back Rose with a questioning look on her face "that wasn't you?" she asked confused.

"No" he said slowly while grabbing his coat and tie from the table near the entrance "original question, the rift opened?"

"Almost, the theory that I have is that some how the Time Vortex of your universe and this universe collided." Rose began to explain her theory, talking similarly to the way that the Doctor would explain something. A million miles an hour. " The rift reacted to the foreign flux in time, you know a Time Lord existing in one universe while there are none in the other, this one, and any other differences, small and big. So in an attempt to fix the problem the rift created a sort of a portal mixing the two vortex's as one and bringing them towards it, in doing that it mixed the two dimensions, made them one. So in the rift drawing that much Vortex towards it almost unsealed it completely, I think the only reason that it didn't open completely is because the thing that was so entirely different has been fixed. I'm guessing that's you Doctor, you being in the Vortex that connected with this Vortex was the catalyst, and now for some reason you may be apart of this history now, this world's history, I'm also guessing that any differences in the worlds that haven't yet been corrected have now"

Mickey and the Doctor were looking at Rose like she'd grown two heads or something "what! Remember I've had more time to think about this then either of you two have"

Mickey's face suddenly filled with dread "Rose, you said something about things that were different in this universe and the other one would be changed, does that mean..."

Rose cut him off by rasing her hand "like I said any differences in the world that already hadn't been sorted out would be. So yes Rickey would have died and you still took his place, mum and dad are still together and Jack was still born. What I meant was the other things like in this world the Sarah-Jane Smith here, where before she never travelled with the fourth you Doctor, now she has. As a consequence the two worlds have collided and joined as one, all differences included" she smiled to the two of them at her own brilliance and then groaned, she was becoming too much like the Doctor.

"I've said it once and I'll say it again, Rose Tyler you are brilliant!" the Doctor said looking over at Rose with a proud grin in place.

"Last time you said that you tricked me into going home and were hell bent on facing the Daleks all by your self. You're lucky I'm brilliant enough to have gone back and saved your TimeLord arse" she informed him letting him know that she was never going to let him forget the trust that he betrayed. But in the look she gave him she let him know that she knew that he had done it out of fear for her safety and that she forgave him long ago.

"Ok this time I mean it, your brilliant, fantastic, I would have never thought about that. Ok maybe I would have eventually, I just would have thought about something more complicated and never looked at it so simply" Rose shot him an affronted look at his comment "what I meant was…"

"Oh shut it" Rose chuckled going over from her position in the door way and taking his hand pulling him along beside her grinning at him over her shoulder "I know what you meant, your brain is so brilliant that seeing the simple side to things is too hard for you"

"Exactly" he nodded his head glad that she agreed with him, he stopped mid nod "…wait a minute" his protest was lost as Rose took them away from the medic tent and to the 4WD that was park not ten metres away.

"The thing that I haven't figured out yet is why the Rift is still threatening to tear the world apart' piped in Mickey "if what Rose says is true then shouldn't it have closed up by now?" turning to the Doctor he asked "Any reason why it's still open Doctor?"

The Doctor thought for a while "haven't the foggiest"

"Fat lot of good you are then" muttered Mickey

"Oi! Just because I don't know now doesn't mean that I won't know sooner or later"

"Well I'd much rather sooner then later so if you two have quite finished I…"

Rose's phone started to shrill loudly

Rose walked away, nodding her head occasionally, after a few moments she hung up. Looking seriously over to Mickey and the Doctor Rose spoke in a tone that Mickey recognised all to well.

"Dad says something's come up, that we had better get back to the camp area"

"What is it" asked Mickey walking over to Rose.

"There energy readings that are way off the charts. Dad wants us back straight away" jumping into the back with the Doctor, Rose wondered what else this night would throw at them.

xxx

I know not really all that surprising that the Doctor would appear, but hey I'm a DR/R shipper at heart and I thought that I should 'fix' Doomsday.

Tell me what you think so far

Hugs and cookies

Time wolf


End file.
